Visitations in the Night
by Seras0Victoria
Summary: Lenalee sneaks into the cell where Allen has been bound and imprisoned. Between her and Allen, she doesn't seem to be the only visitor that night. Inspired by Chapter 201, page 22 of the manga but takes place after page 18 of Chapter 202.
1. Visitor 1

**Visitations in the Night **

**Part 1 of 2**

Allen X Lenalee. 1/15/11. All DGM characters and rights belong to Katsura Hoshino.

I am writing this in between a fan-fiction still in progress ("Revelations") because the last page of Chapter 201 of the manga really moved me. I wanted so much for Lenalee to find Allen and comfort him after seeing that page. Then I read Chapter 202 and was very disappointed and frustrated that she hadn't. As a matter of fact (MANGA SPOILER AHEAD), while Allen is locked up, chained, and refuses to eat or talk, Lenalee is in the dining hall with the others, not making any effort to find Allen. She is, albeit, very torn and concerned about what's happening in general, but I was very unhappy with her for not making any effort to get to Allen or find out what's going on with him. What happened to her uber-concern for him? This is a different Lenalee than the one I've come to know, especially when it comes to Allen. SO! I am going to rectify it somehow, at least for myself in my own mind, by writing what I would like to have seen happen.

It's best to see the page that pushed me to write this so, if you can, before reading, please go to mangareader dot net and find the DGM manga and go to **Chapter 201, page 22** and you'll see what I mean. However, I'm setting this fiction to take place immediately after Chapter 202, page 18, where Lenalee and all the other Exorcists and staff are in the dining hall, being made to eat so as to keep up their strength. I'm just slipping this little scene in there as an interlude, regardless of what happens on page 19 and onward, though I hope it will fit in there without disturbing the actual content of the manga. All right, now with all the addendums put out there, let's do this thing….

* * *

**The Black Order Headquarters – Dining Hall**

The place was in upheaval. Plates were clattering loudly on tables and eventually the floor. Food was being served, eaten, or thrown; all the while constant chatter was ever-elevating in volume. Fear, anger, and confusion were the pervasive sentiments as the noise grew, each trying to top the other. Lenalee looked over at Marie, wondering how his sensitivity was handling this scene. His head was bowed as he ate, and she could tell he was concentrating on catching any important tidbits of information while wading out into the sea of screaming and yelling voices. The din quickly became a cacophony and Lenalee bowed her head where she sat as well, trying to focus as best she could; zoning out everything else into a dull white noise…except when she heard the snippets of his name being spoken…

"_Did you hear about Allen? He's bound and chained in the detention cells downstairs. I can't believe it…"_

"_Inspector Link put Allen in his place, they said. He got to him before he could attack the others and now that arm of his is sealed…"_

"_I don't even think they've tended to Allen's wounds yet just to wear him down. Isn't that torture or something? Central is resorting to some dirty tactics…" _

"_I heard Allen isn't saying a word! Who knows if he's trying to protect us or the Noah…?"_

"_Allen won't even eat! He's thinks they're going to slip him something in his food! It's so unfair. No one trusts anyone anymore…."_

Lenalee found herself oscillating between desperate anger and sadness. How could they do this to him; after all he's done for the Order, for his fellow Exorcists…? She was no fool. She knew very well the dire situation they were in with the 14th pushing himself closer into being. But she knew Allen wouldn't allow himself to be swallowed up if he could help it. She wasn't going to sit there and let him do it alone. But what _could_ she do for him? The sense of creeping doom seemed overwhelming no matter how many times she told herself that Allen couldn't possibly just fade away into nothing.

Suddenly, a pork bun was thrust into her field of vision. Section Chief Reever was holding the steaming roll out for her to take, a fierce look of equal parts concern and determination on his face. He had been watching Lenalee and had no doubt that she had very little appetite. He certainly didn't have any. But they had to keep up their strength and energy. The Exorcists had sustained heavy losses and injuries on every front and, appetite or no, they had to replenish themselves before the next inevitable battle.

"Eat," he said simply, still holding the pork bun out for her."

Lenalee stared at it blankly, listless.

"If you don't gain strength, you won't be able to fight," he continued. "And we have a lot of enemies to fight, remember?"

She took the bun from him and held it in her lap, almost as if it was a foreign object.

"We are responsible for his awakening, too," he stated matter-of-factly.

She startled at his words but before she could ask him to explain, Johnny and Didi LeJeune joined in on Chief Reever's statement with such fervor that they were yelling over one another to make their points.

"It's too cruel for them to lock up Allen like that!" cried Johnny through tears of frustration.

"Exactly! Now we have to do something!" exhorted Didi.

On the outskirts of the fray, Cash Dopp saw Lenalee's confused expression and approached her to offer a brief aside.

"Chief Reever had requested that Allen be looked over by the Science Division," explained Cash.

"Eh?" was all Lenalee could utter, still mortified by everything she was hearing.

"He thought, if they looked closely, they might be able to find a way to remove the memory of the 14th from Allen. But because of that, the First Division is now under scrutiny and also a target of blame."

Lenalee had heard enough. She stood up so quickly and with such force that Cash nearly fell over backwards. She headed straight for Jerry's kitchen. She didn't know how she could help Allen with something she knew was beyond her control or understanding but she wasn't about to sit on her laurels either. The last thing she wanted to do was listen to anymore judgments unfairly cast on a person she knew was innocent.

"I'm glad to see that you are appeasing your appetite, Miss Lenalee. You can't fight on an empty stomach," said Jerry as Lenalee approached the order window. "What else can I get for you?"

"I'll start with twenty mitarashi dango, please."

Jerry looked at her with surprise. "You don't want any chocolate cake?" he asked.

"No, thank you."

He nodded, knowingly. "Then how about some lasagna, ma-po tofu, chicken, and some mango pudding as well?"

"That sounds great, Jerry. To go."

"Of course."

**The Black Order Headquarters – Cell Block F **

The wheels on the food cart squeaked noisily as she pushed it down the hall. The Black Order didn't keep many prisoners, if at all, but the cells were built nonetheless for incidentals. Lenalee knew no one at the time would have ever thought it would hold one of their own someday. The cart's wheels and Lenalee's heel clicks echoed off of the cold stone walls as she made her way down the long corridor toward the last cell. The guards heard her coming long before they saw her.

"Can I help you, Miss Lee?" asked a uniformed officer, clearly from Central.

Though not entirely comfortable having a stranger know her by name, she continued on with her professional demeanor. "I'm here to give Allen Walker his meal," she replied curtly.

"No one is to give provisions to the prisoner other than Inspector Rouvelier, Inspector Link, or myself," he replied, sternly.

_He has a name! _she thought at him, fiercely. Quickly stamping out her anger for the task at hand, Lenalee closed the distance between herself and the officer and lowered her voice. She would try to use the same lingo, then.

"He was going to come down himself but Inspector Link realized that the prisoner might be more open to taking food from someone he knows and trusts. This meal," she said, referring pointedly at the cart," was prepared under Inspector Link's …supervision. He will be down shortly to follow up on this, he told me to relay to you."

"I see," he replied in understanding. He could smell the sweet and savory fragrance of several different dishes wafting out from under the cart cover. "I hope you have better luck than we've had. But I see the wisdom in Inspector Link's plan. "

The guard unlocked the door and Lenalee pushed the cart in slowly, nodding to him as she entered. She didn't dare look up from the cart until she heard the door close and the click of the lock behind her.

When she did look up, it took her eyes some time to adjust. There was an intense, pulsating illumination in the center of the room that almost blinded her. Was this another form of torture to keep Allen awake? She shielded her eyes for a few moments and looked incrementally up to see the base of the light source. It was a huge, golden orb the likes of which she'd never seen. She raised her eyes further as they adapted to the light, then she saw the tell-tale cross shape on the face of the orb. She didn't need to see the rest.

"Timcanpy?"

A gnawing grunt emanated from the face of an overgrown Timcanpy and she could now see his mouth, wings, and tail. He was strapped down with reinforced ground markers and steel cables and what seemed a strategically placed seal over his face. Timcanpy shifted in vain under the weight of the straps then grunted again, resigned.

"L-Lenalee?"

Lenalee looked over into the far back corner of the cell. The cell was longer than it was wide and even though the light radiating from Timcanpy was intense, it seemed to stay within a short radius of Timcanpy's form. It didn't reach the end corners of the room. When her eyes adjusted again to see objects just outside of the light's reach, she finally saw him.

"Allen…kun…" she eked out, as she covered her mouth, aghast at the sight.

Allen Walker was sitting propped up in the far back corner of the cell; the shadow of the room's natural darkness just barely hiding him from exposure. Both of his legs were chained with double thick links and his left hand was bound and sealed, rendered impotent. There was some blood on the floor and on his clothes and he was wounded and bruised all over. This was almost too much to take in when she finally rested her eyes on his face. She couldn't recall the last time he looked so weary. His eyes were hidden from view behind his unkempt and disheveled hair but he managed to smile weakly at her even still.

"Lenalee…how did you…why…?"

She braced herself on the handle of the food cart to keep her balance initially. Whatever she had imagined, it was worse, by tenfold. She pushed the cart forward and hoped he couldn't see her shaking; that it was just the cart's wheels reacting to the uneven floor of the cell that was causing it. She was indignant and furious, but mostly her heart was breaking from the dishonored state of her dear friend and comrade before her.

_Be strong. For him. _"It doesn't really matter how, does it, Allen-kun? As to why…I've told you before…because you're my friend, that's why."

Allen's cheeks turned red for a brief moment. It made her smile to know that he still recalled and was embarrassed by that time he received a resounding slap from her for questioning her motives in pushing him out of the way of an exploding akuma. He was still the Allen she knew and this Allen was being persecuted and imprisoned unfairly.

"You must be starving. Jerry made you some of your favorites. I brought these straight from him so you don't have to worry about anything," Lenalee said reassuringly, in a lowered voice.

At a time like this, offering Allen food seemed so trivial. But she also knew that in the midst of such complications, simple things were sometimes the most comforting. Parking the cart length-wise as she crouched down in front of him, she maneuvered it between herself and the entrance so that it blocked a clear view of them from the cell windows. Timcanpy's large mass also helped to obscure them. She lifted up the cover from her side and brought out the first couple of dishes from the top tray.

With his free right hand, Allen slowly but graciously took the first bite of food he had had in days. His favorite: mitarashi dango. Jerry's cooking felt like home to him, even down in this dank cell. And of all things he hadn't expected was to see Lenalee and have her share this nightmarish space with him. He was relieved when they had been assigned to different countries for the last few missions. As much as he missed being near her, he didn't want her to see him struggling or see him falter. Whenever he came back to headquarters, she was by his side, inquiring and concerned, but supportive. And here she was again, just a breath away from him. Her presence was a welcome change from the darkness of this room; her fragrance like the warm open fields of summer rather than the moldy stillness of this place. He wanted to let go of whatever he had in his hand, he had forgotten what is was by now, and just feel her warmth, maybe even reach out and touch the reality of her nearness...

"Just keep eating, Allen-kun…"

He swallowed and nodded gratefully as she seemed to be uncovering more items from the lower tray of the cart. Once she pulled it out, he saw it wasn't food but washcloths and bandages.

"I can't do much with this but the nurse gave me some supplies and told me what I should do to at least help stop the bleeding and some of the pain. I don't have too much time but keep eating while I do this so they don't get too suspicious."

"Lenalee, you will get into serious trouble if they find out what you're doing."

"I know that. Keep eating."

She knew she had to work on his worst wound first. The nurse said triage was the most important.

"Allen-kun, where is most of the blood coming from?"

He stopped mid-chew and looked at her. _Kanda…_

"Is it here…?" she asked as she pointed to his flank. She could see some blood pooling there on his garment but she didn't want to assume or miss a bigger injury somewhere else.

"Y-yes."

"This might sting a little so…"

Lenalee unzipped his tunic and gingerly peeled the material away from his skin around the injured area. Having been on the receiving end herself, she knew first hand that the first pain outside of the injury itself often came with clothing sticking to the wound due to coagulating blood. She noticed Allen grimace once but he was onto another dish and he played it off as he chewed. She took the washcloth and wrung it out in the water bowl on the bottom tray and began to gently cleanse the area of dried blood and sweat. It was a deep puncture from a sharp object and she could tell that it went clean through him to the other side. Just a few inches to the left or right and it would have cut through a major organ. She shivered at the thought.

She took a fresh washcloth and poured a mixture of alcohol and iodine to swath over the wound. Allen grunted inwardly and flinched as she knew he would. But she kept at it so that his discomfort would end quickly. She then repeated the process around the exit wound in his back, carefully reaching around him so that he didn't have to shift too much from his original position, thereby calling any attention. She warmed some ointment by rubbing it in her own hands before applying it around the wound as a sealant and a way for the bandages to keep from sticking too much when it came time to change them. That is, if they could be changed. The worst of the wounds was finally cleaned and bandaged. She had noticed halfway through that Allen had stopped eating. He most likely had to concentrate on not passing out from her painful ministrations.

"I'm sorry, Allen-kun. I'm not very good at this but the hardest part is over. Are you all right?" she asked as she pulled away from taping up the last bandage.

"You care for this boy quite a bit, don't you, young lady?" said Allen, with an amused lilt.

Lenalee looked up into Allen's face – an unfamiliar face – whose skin was ashen gray.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Visitor 2

**Visitations in the Night **

**Part 2 of 2**

THANKS to all of you who have read this, favorited it in one way or another, reviewed it and/or sent me a pm about your thoughts. I sincerely appreciate all of your feedback and especially the fact that you took time out of your day to read this little ditty. I would like to address a few messages I received from other passionate DGM fans (I 3 you guys!) about why I was disappointed by Lenalee's non-actions in the manga so far in respect to Allen's confinement/situation. I am sure she's concerned as all hell but my disappointment stems from Hoshino seemingly moving away from showing Lenalee's real affection and connection with Allen. Hoshino spent so much time cultivating and nurturing Allen and Lenalee's relationship that I can't help but feel, especially recently, that it's being pushed aside. I know there's a lot going on what with Kanda's sitch and the 14th's imminent rebirth to deal with any "relationship-y" stuff but I feel like it's a disservice to the characters to be missing such a big chunk of their usual interaction. So, that's my primary beef with the manga so far.

The other point that some made was that Lenalee may not know where Allen is or that he's even been imprisoned so that may explain her "non-action." I have to call shenanigans on that theory because CLEARLY everyone at HQ knows that Allen is imprisoned (Johnny pretty much yells it out in the dining hall as an already known fact) and Lenalee's a smart girl…she can see that the place is crawling with people from Central and from The Vatican. She would easily surmise that the only reason they are surrounded by such personnel is because Allen is there as well. Also, where ever Allen is, so is Howard Link. What gets me is that if Lenalee had any question in her mind about Allen, all she would have had to do was ask Komui since he's in the know. But she's not shown doing any of that. Thereby stems my frustration with her seemingly static character in the manga up until now. I'm crossing my fingers that Hoshino has some little tidbit in store for us (even if it's a single little panel showing Lenalee with a thought bubble about Allen) in a later Chapter somewhere. Anyway…on with the show…

* * *

**The Black Order Headquarters – Cell Block F **

"You care for this boy quite a bit, don't you, young lady?" said Allen, with an amused lilt.

She looked up into Allen's face – an unfamiliar face – whose skin was ashen gray.

"KYAA-!" was all she was able to blurt out as she rocked back on her heels so hard and so fast that she started to fall backwards, this at the same time her scream was cut off prematurely from her lips as a sly grin interrupted her with a quiet "Shhhhhh…."

The knock on the door came in quick succession, _rap rap rap, _"Are you all right, Miss Lee?" asked the officer.

Lenalee stared wide-eyed and terrified at the scene around her and absorbed all she could – Timcanpy had started pulsating more energy such that there were tendrils of electricity sparking around him; the mitarashi dango that had been unceremoniously dropped on the floor to her left; the roll of tape she had flung in surprise against the wall on her right where it had bounced off the wall and landed; a warm but crushing grip on her left wrist holding her upright, keeping her from falling as she teetered precariously on the back of her heels; and that sly grin on a face she knew but didn't know; heavy-lidded eyes that were staring up at her from a lowered head, shadowed and intense, unblinking.

"I-I'm fine," she yelled at the door as quickly as she could think. "I just saw a mouse and it surprised me. I almost broke a dish…the prisoner will be finished with his meal soon."

"Good," came the reply, then silence.

"Let. Me. Go." Lenalee hissed at the person in front of her.

He did so, without so much as a word, and Lenalee had to catch herself by placing her now free left hand down on the ground for stabilization. Her wrist was already smarting from the vice-like grip it had endured moments before.

"Couldn't have you calling all manner of attention in here right now, could we?" asked the obscene stranger, cloyingly.

Lenalee held her breath as if it would help her process and makes sense of things. His voice was Allen's but with a clipped edge to it, deeper. There was no softness or innate humility in his tone, only the steadiness and clarity of someone in complete control.

"Allow me to introduce myself…" he began.

That broke her out of her self-imposed reverie. "I know who you are…" she started as she up got onto one knee, preparing to stand.

"Is that so? I know who you are as well."

Lenalee slowly clenched and unclenched her fists but finally she sidled back down to sit before him.

"That's better," he said. "You know I won't do anything right now. It's not time yet."

"Where's Allen-kun? What are you going to do with him?" she demanded, barely able to keep her voice from rising.

"Don't you want to know HOW I know you, Lenalee Lee?" he asked, keeping his face still as stone, the grin never reaching his eyes.

This was the face she had seen when Allen had come back from his mission with Timothy in tow. She had heard that he'd been injured very badly that time and, while Inspector Link had stepped out of the room for a moment, Lenalee had gone inside, hoping to catch Allen when he awoke. He had lain there on his bed, so still and quiet, his body battered and bruised. But she knew she would wait as long it took. It was a few hours later when she heard him rustle and she realized that she had dozed off as well. She'd only just returned from her own mission, worn out and disheveled, but first thing was first: She needed to see that Allen was all right. When she sat up from Link's bed and called his name, she had caught a quick glimpse of his countenance. It was the same one that was looking at her so disconcertingly now.

"Ah. So you DID see me then," he said knowingly, after watching the delicate shift of expression on Lenalee's face as his question hung in the air in silence. "He pushed me back hard that time when he heard your voice. That was all it took. I was impressed with the force of it. But I suppose I understand why."

She barely heard him. Lenalee's eyes focused and found purchase on Allen's state. He still had open cuts on his right arm and he was bruised all over. It was harder to tell through the slate tone of his skin now but she knew Allen's paleness lent itself easily to the blossoming blue, purple, and red palette of contusions. It took all of her will not to reach over and tend to those wounds; wounds he bore for his fellow Exorcists and the humans they all protected.

"Allen-kun…" she whispered to herself, lost for words, lost for action.

"He's not as weak as you think."

"I know that!" she snapped.

"It's because you see him die almost every night," he said, nonchalantly.

"What did you say…?"

"I know about your dream. He has had the same one; each time the same. You're alive while he's not. He sees it, too, though he doesn't recognize it as him. He only sees you, weeping and alone. I've seen you many times, Lenalee; through his dreams and his reality. I can feel what he feels which is why I've wanted to meet you face to face...to see for myself. And, so…here we are." Again with the grin. Again with the steady, disconcerting gaze.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want with Allen-kun?"

"Why am I doing this? I have plans, Lenalee…"

Every time he said her name with Allen's voice, with Allen's mouth, she shuddered. It was like the twisting of something she normally embraced; a ruination of something beautiful, like crushing flowers underfoot.

"…but those plans are between me, my nephew, and the Earl."

"Your…nephew…?" Lenalee recalled the revelatory conversation she had with Allen about Mana being the 14th's brother. It was such a heavy burden for Allen to bear and she knew the idea of that connection and what it meant for Allen's relationship with his adoptive father had still not been reconciled. She wondered if it ever occurred to Allen that the 14th considered him in this way.

"Well, yes. My brother cared for him as he would a son. I was but a seedling planting my roots in Allen in those days but that doesn't mean I didn't feel my brother's devotion to him even then. It was as if I had never left him. He treated Allen much the same as he did me. I was truly reborn. I couldn't have chosen a better Host than this boy. He and I share more than Mana. We have the same goal ahead of us and he will be the key to my victory. It is just a matter of time before he sees this is best for him and accepts it."

"He's not as weak as you think," stated Lenalee.

He nodded at her, strangely pleased at having his own words thrown back at him.

"It is as you say. But that brings me back to you," he said, tilting his head slightly to the side.

Lenalee gulped. When he was talking about his brother and Allen, he had lost that sly grin. His face took an almost somber expression and his gaze seemed to go right past her. But now, those eyes were focused on her once again, steady and piercing. But this time, the grin remained undone.

"What is it about you, Lenalee Lee?" he continued.

Lenalee looked away from him. She had no answer and she wouldn't offer one up even if she did.

"Why so coy, all of a sudden?

"It's none of your business."

"Oh, but it is. Everything that has to do with Allen is MY business. I am he, and he is me."

"You're wrong! Allen is Allen! He existed before you forced yourself into his memories. He grew up to be a kind and courageous person with no help or hindrance from you. Your brother raised him for a while but so did General Cross! And Allen's had to raise himself for a long time as well and he's so much stronger than you…YOU, who still has to depend on him to exist. Without him, you'd be nothing. But without you…Allen would be….he'd be…Allen-kun, and that's more than anyone can hope to be."

Lenalee ended her hushed tirade, breathing heavily; heart-racing, eyes welling up from the deep conviction in her belief and the hope that Allen might somehow believe it as well.

"I see," he said, simply. The grin returned. "I wondered what it was that made Allen so very strong and very weak at the same time. I can understand it somewhat. This little story is turning out to be lovely."

Lenalee shook her head, not understanding.

"This is all so amusing; that one person could wreak so much havoc on another. I'm with him every day and I come to know and feel more and more of him, both in mind and body. This is how we will one day transition into each other. He doesn't bother getting to know me at all so I will be the dominant one. Eventually, he will just be integrated into me. So to see firsthand where his weaknesses and strengths lie is very important to me. And you, dear girl, are both to him."

"I'm…"

"Sometimes, he'll see you walking down the corridor and his knees will go weak for a moment or he'll lose his train of thought. It's unnoticeable for anyone else but I can feel him buckle before he quickly chastises himself and becomes presentable. But he is so very vulnerable then. He'll hear you call to him and his blood surges. Your laughter rings in his ears longer than it physically ought because he'll keep replaying it. In these moments, fleeting as they are, someone could knock him over with a feather. It is quite charming. But it's also during these times I become stronger."

Lenalee looked up at him now, wide-eyed; her pulse racing at the idea of Allen being at the 14th's mercy because of her, inadvertently or no. She could take no delight in the things that were being revealed because it was at the cost of Allen's very own existence.

"But," he continued, "there are days when he throws himself between you and imminent death, risking himself as well as me, because he ardently believes that you should be saved at all costs. When he gets into that mindset, there is nothing I can do but take a back seat in the carriage and give up the reins all together. It is amusing, isn't it?"

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Lenalee in earnest.

"No particular reason. All things will inevitability lead to the same end but these things are just diversions along the way and it has been such a pleasure to experience them. Even the ones that vex me."

"Don't you care about Allen-kun at all?"

"That's an odd question."

"You call him your nephew but you're so willing to erase him from existence…"

"I am he and he is me. He will live on in me, it's all the same."

"No. It's not the same. Allen-kun is my friend; my comrade….my world. I can't lose him."

"It is difficult to be human, isn't it?"

"You once felt love when you were with your brother. Is it so hard to remember?"

"THAT….is beyond me now. I have a heavier charge that I must carry out and you will do well to hear my words when I say that I must succeed…for all of our sakes."

"If it is at the cost of Allen-kun's life, then I can't let you."

"It is unnecessary for there to be enmity between us, Lenalee. I'd prefer there not be."

"Please! Give Allen-kun back…" cried Lenalee, less sternly than she wanted. It seemed more like pleading.

"Everything is in motion and the outcome is set…what are you doing…?"

Lenalee had reached out and grabbed his right arm. It felt like she was holding onto Allen. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine it so. But the tell-tale grey tone kept her rooted in reality. Nevertheless, she took a new washcloth, dabbed it into clean water, and began to wipe away the dried blood from the cuts on his arm.

"Stop…" he began.

"I need to do this…"

"I am not Allen."

"These are Allen-kun's wounds…"

"I am Neah, the 14th Noah of the Noah Clan…"

"These are Allen-kun's wounds…"

For once his expression was not of smug confidence, but one of pure shock. He stared down at Lenalee and watched her cleanse his wounds and bandage them. He made no real attempt at pulling away like she thought he would. One by one, no matter how small, she ministered to each cut and as she did so, his features continued to soften. She then turned her attention to the small cuts on his face. Gingerly she swabbed away dirt and blood from his cheek and nose and chin.

"When was the last time anyone has actually ever touched you?" she ventured as she put away the last of the bandages under the cart.

"…"

"…When you were with Mana?"

He closed his eyes. "I have no words for you, Lenalee Lee."

She realized that, even though it felt like hours, she'd been in the cell about 20 minutes and she was losing precious time.

"Give him back," she said calmly.

"…"

"Allen-kun…"

And before she could stop herself, she leaned in and embraced him fully, crushing herself against him and his sealed left arm.

"Allen-kun, please…" she whispered into his left ear, blowing away his hair as his name left her lips. "Come back."

"L-Lenalee…?" he said, his voice quivering.

Lenalee slowly pulled away from him, leaving only scant inches between them so she could look into his eyes. They were grey and soft and…confused.

"Allen-kun?"

"Are you okay, Lenalee?"

A brilliant flush spread over Allen's face and she rejoiced, pulling him to her again in a fierce embrace, tears flowing unchecked.

It was awkward. He was awkward. But she didn't care. She would hold him regardless. Then she felt a slight pressure on the small of her back, where Allen had gently laid his hand to hold her against him as well.

"Miss Lee! I've received word that Inspector Link will be coming down for his usual…interview."

Lenalee pulled reluctantly away from Allen and began arranging the cart, after picking up the dango that was dropped on the floor. "Yes! I'm done here, please unlock the door," she yelled.

Allen looked down at himself for want of something better to do and noticed all of his wounds were cleaned and bandaged, including his right arm.

Lenalee quickly took out food that had not been eaten yet and placed them in the nook next to Allen so he could still eat when she was gone. After covering up the cart, she kneeled down once more before Allen. Brushing his unruly hair away from his clear, grey eyes, she tucked some lengths of it behind his left ear. Just as she heard the last click of the lock, she allowed her hand to drift from his hair to his face and linger there for a moment longer.

"I feel the same, Allen-kun," she said, and then she quickly rose and pushed the cart in front of her. She looked one last time over her shoulder to where Allen was sitting but his face was obscured by the shadows once more.

Allen heard the door close behind her and the click of the lock. He strained to hear the sound of the cart rolling across the uneven stone floor, becoming ever distant until even the echoes died away into nothing. He looked at his right hand and saw the result of Lenalee's attention and the bruises that threatened to spread across his pale skin. He slowly brought his hand up to his face and placed it lightly where Lenalee had held him for a few seconds before she left.

"Allen is Allen," he said to himself, and smiled a smile that reached all the way to his eyes.

THE END

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A/N – Thank you all again for reading this! I feel a little better for getting it out of my system. I had no idea where it would lead but I'm glad you came along with me. I hope you enjoyed some of it. Now I can get back to my main DGM fanfiction, woo hoo! Please be so kind as to leave a review if you feel up to it


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